The ‘militarization’ of Iraqi society puts the country at risk of military coups, Iraqi vice president Adil Abdel-Mahdi said in remarks quoted by Baghdad’s al-Mada daily on Tuesday.

Abdel-Mahdi said the country’s 1 million police officers and soldiers mean that there is one policeman for every 30 Iraqis – and that at least one member of every family is part of the security forces.

‘There is a historical precedent in this case. The country is set for military coups,’ the vice president said.

A 1958 military coup toppled the Iraqi monarchy and set the stage for a string of successive coups that brought the Baath Party to power.